Identification of approximately duplicate material records in ERP systems

The quality of master data is crucial for the accurate functioning of the various modules of an enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. This study addresses specific data problems arising from the generation of approximately duplicate material records in ERP databases. Such problems are mainly due to the firm’s lack of unique and global identifiers for the material records, and to the arbitrary assignment of alternative names for the same material by various users. Traditional duplicate detection methods are ineffective in identifying such approximately duplicate material records because these methods typically rely on string comparisons of each field. To address this problem, a machine learning-based framework is developed to recognise semantic similarity between strings and to further identify and reunify approximately duplicate material records – a process referred to as de-duplication in this article. First, the keywords of the material records are extracted to form vectors of discriminating words. Second, a machine learning method using a probabilistic neural network is applied to determine the semantic similarity between these material records. The approach was evaluated using data from a real case study. The test results indicate that the proposed method outperforms traditional algorithms in identifying approximately duplicate material records.     

Horticultural exports,female wage employment and primary school enrolment: Theory and evidence from Senegal

In this paper we analyse the indirect effects of the boom in horticultural exports in Senegal on child schooling. The export boom has caused a dramatic increase in female off-farm wage employment, which led to increased female bargaining power in the household. We investigate the causal effect of female wage income on primary school enrolment. We develop a collective household model with endogenous bargaining power to show that, if women have higher preferences for schooling than men, the impact of female wage income on school enrolment will be the result of a positive income effect, a negative labour substitution effect and a positive empowerment effect. We address the question empirically using original household survey data from Senegal. We use different econometric techniques and show that female off-farm wage income has a positive effect on primary school enrolment for both boys and girls, and that female empowerment is specifically important for the schooling of girls. Our results imply that the horticultural export boom in Senegal has indirectly contributed to the second and third Millennium Development Goals of universal primary education and elimination of gender disparities in primary education.     

中部六省农村服务业发展水平评价的实证研究

利用因子分析法，选取了十个指标，对中部六省农村服务业发展水平进行了综合评价。结果表明，中部六省农村服务业发展水平的差距较大，大概可以分为三个集团：第一集团有山西和江西，其农村服务业发展为上游水平，领先其他省份；第二集团有河南、湖北、安徽，其农村服务业发展为中游水平，第三集团是湖南，其农村服务业发展为下游水平。     

Immigration and international inbound tourism: Empirical evidence from Australia

Immigration can potentially influence tourism flows. However, in spite of the vast number of studies on tourism demand modelling, the immigration-tourism linkage has not received much attention in the empirical literature. This paper seeks to address this gap. A dynamic demand model is developed and estimated using data from 1980 to 2008 for the 15 main markets of Australia. The explanatory variables included are income, own price, price of a substitute destination, airfare and immigration. The estimation results empirically establish the connection between immigration and inbound tourism. The short run and long-run immigration elasticities generated are 0.028 and 0.09 respectively. Additionally this paper demonstrates that omission of prices of substitutes affects the value of the own price elasticity of demand. The results have implications for future research and for stakeholders who can improve the efficiency of their planning exercises by taking into account additional information on immigration trends.     

儿童普通话语音发展的语料采集与分析方法综述

儿童普通话语音语料采集及语音发展相关语料分析的两种研究方法都有其优势和不足。为追求更加高信度的研究结果,研究者应根据实际情况,尽量选择合适的方法。     

Demystify the labor statistics in China

In contrast to the great changes from a planning economy to market economic system, the transition in statistics system is left behind. The problem is quite serious in labor statistics. The paper reviews how the current labor statistical system collects the data and its reliability. By analyzing relevant indicators, the paper points out that policy-making based on the current labor statistics may mislead the outcomes in the Chinese labor market. To improve the labor statistics, a deep and comprehensive reform in the statistical system is required.     

A conceptual framework for product lifecycle modelling

Product lifecycle modelling is to define and represent product lifecycle data and to maintain data interdependencies. To build a complete, reusable and highly consistent product lifecycle information model, the product lifecycle is divided into five stages: requirement analysis, conceptual design, engineering design, manufacturing, and service and support. Accordingly, five stage product models (requirement analysis model, conceptual design model, engineering design model, manufacturing model, and service and support model) are discussed. To integrate all information of a product lifecycle and support networked manufacturing mode, the key elements of product lifecycle modelling are discussed and a framework of product lifecycle modelling is proposed. Further, the relationship and evolvement of product models at different stages are described. Finally, a Web-based integration framework is proposed to support interoperability of distributed product data sources.     

“十一五”期间薪酬设计实践的变革及其特点

自2000年开始的新世纪新一轮企事业单位内部分配改革,已经经历了包括＂十五＂期间和＂十一五＂前四年以来在内的近十年时间。与＂十五＂期间分配改革的理念、政策和做法相比,自进入＂十一五＂期间的内部分配改革明显呈现出一些新的特点：确定企业内部分配差距,由一味地追求＂按市场定价＂向＂限高、提低、增中＂转变;工资构成由单一的岗位工资制向岗位资质绩效工资制转变;纳入工资档次的条件,由单一的按本人资质决定向岗位资质要求和本人具有的岗位资质相结合转变;由不够重视绩效考核转变到极为重视绩效考核并细化绩效工资方案转变。     

湘南湘北民歌差异研究

湘南、湘北民歌是湖南民歌中的重要部分,由于两地区分别位于湖南的南北两端,因此在湖南民歌中具有突出的代表意义。两地民歌中存在着一些重要的差异,而这些差异主要是由于两地在方言、民族结构和地理环境等方面的差异而造成的。     

XBRL for Financial Reporting: Evidence on Italian GAAP versus IFRS

The systematic adoption of the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) for financial reporting represents a great challenge. Worldwide, a large number of regulators are making an effort to promote the adoption of this standard to simplify and enhance the communication of financial information. This requires the definition of well‐structured taxonomies that can standardize and accommodate the content of financial reports prepared by firms. This study aims to analyze the regulator‐led adoption of XBRL for financial reporting. It examines the XBRL taxonomies used by Italian firms to reflect their financial reporting under rule‐based Italian GAAP and principles‐based International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). We compare the alignment of the Italian GAAP taxonomy and the IFRS taxonomy with Italian companies' financial statements and find two different levels of fit. The results offer useful insights for regulators and policy makers in prescribing or establishing appropriate taxonomies. We illustrate the potential impacts of the different taxonomies on the quality of financial reporting in terms of comparability and potential loss of information.